A MacDougall Man
by NeoJericho
Summary: A story taking place after the series' end...Ron MacDougall reflects on his past and his father, as well as his brother's birth. Not my first fic, but my first FF.net fic and my first OS fic, so R&R are appreciated.


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A MacDougall Man

** **

"Just rest, bro," Harry MacDougall said soothingly. "I'll take care of all the flight operations. You just get your rest. That was one hell of a fight, so you'll be out for awhile."

The sleek golden ship slowly lurched to life. It hovered slightly above the glasslike ground, then turned around, and flew towards the small opening in the sky, the opening leading to the exit of the Galactic Leyline.

Ron MacDougall tried to turn his head to look back at the center of the Leyline. Gene Starwind was still in there. So was the Tao Master Hazanko. One of them would unlock the secret of the Leyline. If Hazanko found it, well, they were doomed. If Gene found it…well, Ron didn't know what would happen. That man was too unpredictable. But regardless of that, Gene finding the secret was the more desirable outcome. Ron quietly, and a bit reluctantly, wished his rival luck. 

Ron cried out softly as a sharp pain came from his side. Gene had used a rare Caster shell on him…a shell Ron didn't even know existed. Thinking about his fight with Gene reminded Ron of just how much work they'd done to get to the Leyline. Ron had tracked down Professor Gwen Kahn, designer of the XGP-15A and the android Melfina, in order to help Harry. Harry had been nearly killed in a fight with Gene, most of his body mangled beyond use. Gwen Kahn had given him an android body similar to Mefina's…a body that was able to navigate the Leyline like Melfina's. They had then followed the XGP to the Leyline…after entering the very core of the Leyline, Ron found himself in a duel against Gene…

_We failed, though, _Ron thought to himself. _We failed to find the secret ourselves. I was almost killed, and Harry…_ It was hard to decide whether his brother was truly dead now…his physical body was gone, but his mind and consciousness still existed in the computer of the _Shang Ralah_. And it was possible that Harry's mind could be downloaded into another android body later on. _But that sort of operation is expensive,_ Ron thought. _And we're hurting a bit on cash after this disaster…_

Harry seemed to be able to sense his brother's discomfort. "Don't worry about it, Ron," his now computer generated voice said. "We're MacDougall men, after all."

"We're MacDougall men…"

"You're a MacDougall man…"

_Just like Dad used to say…_Ron thought as he drifted into a hardly peaceful sleep.

****

The large man slapped the back of his young son, brushing his brown hair back with his other hand. "Good work, little buddy," he said. "That's the way a MacDougall man does it!"

The boy excitedly ran forward to check the firing target he had just used, placing his paint gun on the ground along the way. Six shots, and none were an inch off the target. "Wow, Dad!" the boy yelled with glee. "I'm getting better!"

"Yup," the father said with real pride, picking up his five-year-old son and setting him on his shoulders. "You might beat your old man someday."

A nearby door opened. A young and beautiful woman stepped out, her light blue hair drifting down almost to her waist. "Henry," she said, sounding worried, "I don't think this is the sort of thing Ronald needs to be learning."

"He's a MacDougall, honey," the man said, sounding a bit angry. "And call him Ron. Kids will make fun of a name like Ronald."

"But if all he learns is how to shoot at people, he'll end up as one of those dreadful bounty hunters, a gun for hire. Just like…" she stopped talking suddenly, lowering her head quickly.

"He'll end up like his father," Henry said, finishing her sentence. His face was framed with anger. He then calmed, and placed the boy back on the ground. He handed him a bit of money. "Ron, run up to town for awhile. Mommy and I have something to discuss…"

****

Ron awoke with a start. He glanced outside the ship slowly. There was nothing but open space. 

He sighed to himself. Back then, he had believed what his father said. But, as an adult, he now knew what really happened when he went on his little trips to town. 

His father had always been kind to him. But his father was a man obsessed with glory, with fame. He had made a name for himself as an upright interplanetary trader. But that was only on the surface. He dealt with smuggling and other shady deals under the surface. And also a little bounty hunting. His father didn't make much money from bounties, at least compared to the trading business. But the hunts were a hobby of his, often like a stress reliever.

_Just like us,_ Ron mused, aware of his father's influence. He couldn't deny that he found peace in the hunts, the feeling of power it gave him. And he knew Harry had felt the same, maybe even a bit more…

Ron pushed the thoughts out of his head, and welcomed sleep once more…

****

Ron MacDougall sat in the hospital waiting room beside his father. He was a boy of eight, and was awaiting the birth of his second sibling. His sister, only three at the time, was sitting on the floor, playing with a small doll, her blue hair reaching to her shoulders. He wasn't sure what kind of baby he wanted his mother to have. They had been unable to determine the gender of the baby from the sonograms, so they wouldn't find out until it was born. He wouldn't mind another sister, but he knew his dad wanted another son more than anything. He knew his dad loved him, but he also knew his dad wanted as many sons as possible, to carry on the family name…

The doctor walked out into the waiting room. "Henry MacDougall?" he said, glancing around the nearly empty room.

Ron's father stood up. "That's me," he said.

"Your wife has just given birth. It's…a girl."

Ron's sister squealed with glee, and ran towards her mother's room, led by the kindly doctor. Ron began to follow, but he glanced back as he left the waiting room. 

His father was looking at the floor, a look of disbelief on his face. Then he looked up, and turned to the hospital exit, slamming the door behind him.

****

Ron awoke again. He knew his mind was taunting him, giving him these memories of his past. His father had been slightly disappointed when his first sister was born, but he had shrugged it off eventually. 

But his second sister…his father had disappeared for a couple of months after the birth. He came back unannounced later, and promptly sent Ron and the girls to visit their uncle's for awhile.

Ron could feel sleep consuming him again…and he knew exactly which memory would come this time.

****

Ten-year-old Ron MacDougall cried quietly into his pillow. His father stood over him, offering little comfort. 

"I'm sorry, son…space is a rough place…accidents are bound to happen."

His mother, as well as his two sisters, had been killed on their way back from a trip. The space transport they were on had exploded, the cause unknown. Pirates were suspected, as radar had picked up an unidentified ship nearby, but nothing was certain.

"Such a tragedy, too…" his father continued. "She was five months pregnant…with our third daughter."

He had said the last part with an almost snide tone of voice…

"Just let it out for now, son…" he continued. "But life goes on. A MacDougall man must live on."

His father left the room. Ron lifted his head from the pillow, and took a picture off his shelf. It showed his mother, and his two sisters, all three of them with their beautiful blue hair…

****

Ron thought back then that his father was just being tough by not showing much sadness from the accident…but Ron had later found evidence that the unidentified ship had been one of his father's vessels…

Even after his mother's death, his father still hungered for another son. He did not remarry, however…Ron knew he didn't want to risk having another daughter.

All kinds of advancements were being made in science back then. Scientists were learning how to do some interesting things. One of his father's friends was a scientist doing such research. He had developed a way to create a baby without a mother to carry it. A test tube baby, in other words. It was still a bit experimental, but his dad didn't hesitate. The scientist had also found a way to choose the gender of the baby. 

Ron smiled a bit. This was one of his father's worst mistakes…

****

"It's…a boy. Just as planned," the scientist said, sounding relieved.

Twelve-year-old Ron MacDougall saw the pride returning to his father's face. "At last," his father said. "Another son…another man to carry on my name…another MacDougall man."

Ron looked at the boy. He was old enough now to understand a bit of genetics. The boy had been born from his father's sperm cells and an artificially created egg…so there was no woman involved. No mother. All the traits would be from his father. All from a MacDougall.

His father was overjoyed, and he held the baby up in the air. "You," he said, soothingly, "along with your brother, are going to keep my name famous, even after I'm gone."

The scientist looked up from a computer screen he had been analyzing. "Hey, Henry," he said. "I've got some of his traits analyzed…this says he'll grow to he fairly tall, with a good mind, and…oh, he'll have a nice shade of blue hair…"

Ron's father stopped praising his new son, and set him back on the table. "What did you say?" he demanded of the scientist.

"His hair…it'll be blue…"

Henry MacDougall's arm moved to inside his coat. A flash of metal emerged soon after, followed by a loud noise. The scientist fell to the ground, never again to rise.

Ron's father turned to the baby. "Impossible…" he muttered. "This boy is from my genes…why doesn't he have brown hair…like a real MacDougall…" He stared at the baby, and raised the gun.

Ron ran forward. He knew not to challenge his father's decisions, but this was too much…

"No! Father, stop!"

Henry turned towards the boy. "He's not of any use to us, Ron. He's just wasting air."

"No! Dad, he's your son. One of us. He's a MacDougall. A MacDougall man."

Henry looked at his first son with mild amusement. He laughed to himself, and returned his gun to his coat. Then, he turned towards the door, calling back to Ron.

"Grab your brother, Ron. I'm tired of this place."

****

Ron glanced out towards space once again. His father had been merciful that day. But Harry had turned out to be nothing but trouble from then on. Sure enough, despite his father's hope that the scientist had been wrong, blue hairs began to grow on the boy's head. Harry was a frail boy from the start. As he grew up, Henry had trained him, just as he trained Ron. But Harry had little skill in physical activity.

Ron had watched his father grow more and more depressed over the years following Harry's birth. He gave up leadership of his trading company, staying on as an advisor. The bounty hunting became more and more common, his father staying away for weeks at a time. Ron was seventeen by this time, and was able to take care of Harry and himself with ease. When he turned eighteen, Ron had begun a bit of bounty hunting himself, just in the local area. He knew he was becoming more and more like his father, but he couldn't help it. It was in his blood. 

Then, it happened. Henry had been hanging out at the local bar quite often, and got in the occasional fight due to his arrogant attitude…

****

Ron sat quietly, thinking over the bounty he had brought in that day. Some small crook had held up a jewelry store in town, and Ron was hired to bring him back. He was holed up in a hut outside town. Ron headed there on a tip from one of the crook's rivals, busting through the hut's weak door and putting a gun to the man's head. The crook gave in quickly.

Ron sighed. The reward was only 400 wong, but it would be enough. Besides, the man's pathetic wailing had been quite entertaining…

Suddenly, a friend of his dad's, a fellow bounty hunter by the name of Lunin, ran quickly in the door.

"Ron!" he shouted, out of breath. Ron saw the expression of disbelief on the man's face.

"Your father…he got into a fight at the bar with this guy named Lei Long…they agreed on a duel, and…"

Six-year-old Harry looked up, his eyes beginning to water…"Is Papa okay…?" he asked, his voice cracking a little.

"I'm sorry…" Lunin said, his own voice shaky. "He lost the duel…he's dead, Ron."

* * * *

And that was the end of Henry MacDougall. A quiet funeral had been held, with few in attendance. Henry had made more enemies than friends in his later days. Besides Ron, Harry, and Lunin, only a few business associates and the hunters Henry worked with had shown. 

Ron had always thought that his father would've been angry with the number of people who attended. He had spent his life building his name, and in the end, had little to show for it. 

Harry had taken it well. He loved his father, even though Henry hadn't exactly treated him well. Ron continued to train Harry, building him up into a pretty good fighter. But Harry was still too frail to be much of a bounty hunter.

Ron himself was not saddened by his father's passing. He had seen the man do too many horrible things during his life. And he had done them all in arrogance, only to make his name known…

Ron looked outside the ship's window. They were approaching a planet, Heifong by the looks of it. They had a house there; Ron could begin rebuilding there.

Rebuilding his name, the name MacDougall. Ron smiled. He had sold the remaining shares of his father's trading company, and devoted his time to bounty hunting. Within a few years, he had built up his name more than his father ever had. But he hadn't done it for his father. He had done it for himself. 

He was a MacDougall man. And regardless of his past or his future, he wanted the universe to know it.

There, hope you liked it. Sorry, the ending's a bit rushed. I wanted to add a little more, maybe some more scenes showing Henry's anger with Harry, but I just felt like finishing up. Anyway, this is my first OS fic, so I'd appreciate feedback…

Oh, and as usual, I don't own any of these characters or OS, etc. I guess I own Lunin, but I just made him up because I needed a guy to tell Ron about his dad…


End file.
